The adrenal hormone aldosterone helps in controlling sodium and potassium levels in the human body while regulating blood pressure levels. With the help of this hormone, the level of fluid and electrolytes (renal potassium) is also maintained in the blood.
The adrenal glands produce aldosterone when stimulated by the renal hormone renin. With insufficient or delayed removal of fluid from the body, the levels of renin and aldosterone increase significantly. That is why, when checking the level of aldosterone, in parallel, doctors draw conclusions about the production of renin.
The essence of the study on hormonal content
An analysis to determine aldosterone is carried out in order to determine its concentration in human blood. During this procedure, it is possible to identify various formations of the adrenal glands and their abnormal level of activity. A decrease in potassium in the blood and the occurrence of hypertension will tell specialists about these processes.
Different pathologies will lead to different levels of changes in the content of aldosterone in the blood. Its excess is called hyperaldosteronism, and insufficient synthesis leads to aldosterone deficiency. At the same time, in the female body, aldosterone can be increased during pregnancy and in the luteal phase of menstruation.
Among the main medical indications for testing for aldosterone, experts call a reduced level of potassium in the body, increased blood pressure, dizziness with sudden movements (orthostatic hypotension), insufficient adrenal function. A nephrologist, oncologist, endocrinologist, internist or general practitioner can refer a patient for such a diagnostic check.
A blood test for aldosterone is carried out according to the enzyme immunoassay method, for which specialists take blood from the patient’s veins. Based on the uneven production of aldosterone in the body throughout the day, it is important to thoroughly prepare for the test. It is carried out in conjunction with an analysis of renin/plasma renin activity. This is done in order to determine the aldosterone-renin ratio (ARC) in the future.
A few days before the expected date of diagnosis, you need to start following a hyposodium diet (table salt is completely excluded from the diet). This fact will certainly affect the result of the analysis submitted in the future. It is also impossible to take an analysis for aldosterone during an acute inflammatory disease, since at such a time its concentration in the body drops sharply. But physical or emotional overwork can provoke an increase in the level of the hormone in the blood of the subject.
One month before the proposed analysis, it is necessary to stop the use of certain antihypertensive drugs that affect APC and replace them with others (for example, verapamil calcium channel blockers, alpha-blockers or hydralazine). This is not done by the patient, but by the cardiologist who observes the patient, together with the endocrinologist. The analysis itself is taken in the morning, about 2 hours after waking up, exclusively on an empty stomach. Immediately before taking blood, you need to sit quietly for 10-15 minutes.
What does high or low hormone levels indicate?
A low level of aldosterone indicates the occurrence in the human body of Addison’s disease or adrenal insufficiency, various types of renal failure, congenital adrenal tumors (adrenogenital syndrome), acute poisoning of the body, including alcohol, and other pathologies in which dehydration occurs.
Sometimes experts note low levels of this hormone in the blood of those patients who underwent surgery for tumors of the adrenal cortex.
Primary or secondary hyperaldosteronism is characterized by a mirror situation, that is, a sharp increase in the level of aldosterone in the analysis. This situation is very typical for Conn’s syndrome, which occurs during the formation of tumors in the adrenal glands, may be with unilateral or bilateral adrenal hyperplasia, less often as a result of hereditary glucocorticoid-dependent hyperaldosteronism. This syndrome is characterized by a malfunction in the balance of electrolytes in the body.
In the secondary form of hyperaldosteronism, doctors talk about the occurrence of kidney pathologies, cirrhosis of the liver, or heart failure.
The results of the analyzes become clear after 2-5 days after the delivery. Sometimes, for example, during pregnancy, the use of certain drugs, excessive physical exertion, there is absolutely no expediency in knowing the level of this hormone, since in all of the above cases it will be increased for physiological reasons. During life, the indicator of this hormone falls, which also makes the analysis biased in the elderly patients.
Tests to detect the level of the hormone aldosterone in the blood are the most important tool for diagnosing complex diseases, therefore, such diagnostic methods must be approached responsibly, carefully preparing for them and observing all the prescriptions of doctors during such preparation.